Chapters 1–2

Summary: Chapter 1

Grant Wiggins recalls the outcome of a trial.
He says that he was not there, but he knew what the verdict would
be. He pictures the courtroom, the judge, and the attorneys. He
pictures his aunt, Tante Lou, sitting beside the defendant’s godmother,
Miss Emma, both watching the proceedings with solemn rigidity. Grant
can picture the back of Jefferson’s close-cropped black head as
he sits at the defendant’s table.

Grant recalls the incidents leading up to the trial.
Jefferson, Grant says, was on his way to the White Rabbit Bar and
Lounge when Brother and Bear, two young black men, drove up beside
him and offered him a ride. The three men drove to a store, where Brother
and Bear demanded that Alcee Gropé, the store owner, give them drinks
on credit. Alcee refused, and the ensuing argument led to a shootout.
Alcee, Brother, and Bear all died, leaving Jefferson alone in the
store. Grant says Jefferson stood at the scene of the crime, confused
and frightened, and took a slug of whiskey to calm his nerves. He
looked around and saw the open cash register full of money. He knew
that stealing was wrong, but he also knew that he would need to
run, so he took some money. He had nearly reached the door when
two white men walked into the store.

Grant says the prosecution argued that Jefferson had
gone to the store intending to rob and kill Alcee Gropé. The prosecution claimed
that Jefferson stuffed the money into his pockets and celebrated
the murder by drinking some of Alcee’s liquor. Grant says that Jefferson’s
attorney defended Jefferson by insisting that he is a boy and a
fool, and therefore incapable of planning the robbery and murder.
The attorney said he would rather put a hog in the electric chair
than such a mindless individual. The white jury members deliberated
for just a few hours before finding Jefferson guilty of robbery
and murder in the first degree. A few days later, the judge sentenced
Jefferson to death by electrocution.

Summary: Chapter 2

When Grant comes home from school on the afternoon of
the trial, he finds his aunt, Tante Lou, and Jefferson’s godmother,
Miss Emma, sitting quietly at the table. He hurries to his room.
He knows they want to talk about the trial and wishes desperately
to avoid the subject. For courtesy’s sake, however, he goes out
to the kitchen. He tries to excuse himself quickly, but they insist
on talking to him. Grief-stricken, Miss Emma thinks about how Jefferson’s
attorney compared Jefferson to a hog. She tells Grant that she does
not want Jefferson to die a hog and that she wants Grant to accompany
her to the prison and teach Jefferson to die with dignity. Grant
angrily refuses, insisting he can do nothing to help Jefferson.
Tante Lou tells Grant that all three of them must visit Mr. Henry
Pichot because his brother-in-law, the sheriff, might admit them
to see Jefferson. Grant clenches his fists in fury. He wants to
scream at his aunt and tell her how much he hates the town and how
helpless he feels in this oppressive environment, but he knows that
she would not hear him.

Analysis: Chapters 1–2

The first chapter opens with the novel’s fundamental concern:
how can justice prevail in a society dominated by a single group
of people? In Jefferson’s trial, the judge is white, the lawyers
are white, and every member of the jury is white. Therefore, Jefferson
receives a trial not by his peers, but by his oppressors. Jefferson’s
attorney pleads for Jefferson’s innocence by appealing to white
prejudices, arguing that Jefferson is as morally blank as a hog.
This trial robs Jefferson of his legal rights. Because he is black
in a racist society, the law will not help Jefferson. The jurors
are not even asked to consider the legality of the situation. Rather,
they are asked to acquit him because he is a pathetic creature.

On one hand, Gaines condemns the society as racist. To
Grant, the trial is an elaborate performance with a predetermined
conclusion: Jefferson will be found guilty. Grant understands that
in this society, a black man is guilty until proven innocent. Under
the law, the prosecution has to prove Jefferson’s guilt, but under
the rules of convention in this racist society, the prosecution
must only concoct a vague theory based on no evidence. Jefferson’s
attorney defends his client not by using the evidence, but by damning
Jefferson as a hog and a fool too stupid to plan such a crime. Grant’s
decision to stay away from the trial begins to seem not a cynical
refusal to hope for a not guilty verdict, but a sensible realization
that no matter what the evidence says, Jefferson will be found guilty.
On the other hand, Gaines intentionally blurs the truth in this
opening chapter, questioning the truth of Grant’s statements. At
this point, we do not know for sure what happened during the crime.
Grant details several different versions of the crime even though
he witnessed neither the crime nor the trial. Gaines deliberately
leaves the story murky in order to suggest the murkiness of racism
in Americ